Concert Review: The Donnas

The Donnas (they've really dropped that same first name thing) have been pumping out their high-energy femme groove rock since high school. We became aware of their style with their 2002 debut "Spend the Night". The girls are writing more personal material now and with "Gold Medal", their October release, Maya, Allison, Brett and Torry are delving deeper into rock roots.

Now on tour, The Donnas have a rep for putting on energetic and audience-friendly live shows. We found their recent sold out gig, November 14th at The House of Blues on the Sunset Strip in L. A., to be no exception. We arrived kind of early so had to hang around through three opening bands but finally, at around 10:30 pm, we got our all girl group. The audience was mixed, mostly a young crowd with more guys than girls in attendance. After the big House of Blues patchwork-quilt style curtain was raised, the girls appeared. Playing in front of a giant poster of the cover art from their new album, the band looked great in casual jeans and cute tops, especially lead singer Brett, in purple tank blouse.

After continually showing my photo pass to House of Blues security guys, I listened and snapped pix as the band went through a lot of their new album tunes; I Don't Want to Know (If You Don't Want Me), It's so Hard, Fall Behind Me, etc. all delivered with great energy and audience interaction (Brett was always asking us if we were enjoying the show). It's a show in itself to just watch drummer Torry, who recently had to have her hand operated on for tendonitis, toss her hair around as she attacked her drums.

Although the girls were singing their hearts out, the sound seemed overcranked for the smallish venue and it was difficult to hear the actual melodies and lyrics over the din of guitars and drums. The Donna-lovin' crowd didn't seem to care, however, responded enthusiastically and sang along. All-in-all, a fun live performance simply on the strength of the band's enthusiastic delivery. Check out the Gold Medal album and, if The Donnas are especially your cup of java, you can join the "Donnaholics" by logging on to thedonnas.com where you can get free goodies and the latest band news.

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.